President's Message - December 2013

Website archive 1995-2013

The
long-awaited meeting of November 23, organized by Lana Popham (and her
assistant, Samuel Godfrey, whom she has committed will stay on to help the
"stakeholders"), occurred as scheduled. I suppose that one does not want to be
overly optimistic, but it seemed to me to have been a success.

In attendance from RASC Victoria Centre were Chris, Lauri, SId, Roy, Malcolm,
Jim and Betty Hesser, and me. In a nutshell, we early-on stated our position, as
understood had been decided by counsel, to be that we would continue to provide
volunteers for Saturday night viewing, with the understanding that 1) we could
not provide security, and 2) only if the Plaskett was open for tours by the
public, given that the large telescope is what draws most people up the hill.

The NRC VP from Ottawa also stated his position early on, and clarified and
reiterated it a number of times, it being this: NRC has "no appetite" for
spending new money on the CU, but neither does it have any plans to
"decommission" the CU building, or turn off the heat, or empty it, or stop
providing security for it. This led everyone to conclude that the CU could be
used by any of the parties there, subject to terms being negotiated, so long as
NRC did not have to spend anything on it, a conclusion with which he did not
disagree. He seemed to say specifically that NRC providing security on the hill,
and for the CU building itself, was the same as providing security for our
Saturday night endeavors. How the Plaskett would be tended to on Saturday nights
was left for discussion with local NRC staff.

Each of us from Victoria Centre had something to say. Insurance, advertising,
and other issues were all discussed. I felt our participation was much
appreciated, and we seem in the driver's seat insofar as what has been our
traditional role is concerned, no matter who or what it is that may have
something to offer beyond night-sky viewing and a tour of the mighty Plaskett.

Everyone seemed to think that night-sky viewing could resume next spring.
Both long and short-term committees were set up to make sure that our momentum
is not lost: Lauri and Chris are on the short-term committee, and I am on the
long-term committee. A meeting of the short-term committee is in the offing, and
I�m sure the long-term group will be meeting after the holidays.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada is dedicated
to the promotion of astronomy and its related sciences; we espouse the
scientific method, and support dissemination of discoveries and
theories based on that well-tested method.